This invention is related to the art of orthodontics, and more particularly to the art of achieving proper alignment of the dental arch through forces applied to selected teeth by orthodontic applicances.
The practice of orthodontics is concerned not merely with the aesthetic alignment and appearance of teeth, but primarily addresses the proper positioning of teeth in relation to the bony structure of the face. For an individual facial structure, one can construct the optimum formation of the maxillary and mandibular arches, and the degree of an individual's orthodontic malformation can be related to the departure from those optima. In general, orthodontic practice seeks to realign teeth to form arches closely resembling the optimum shapes.
Because many patients exhibit dental "crowding"--the eruption of teeth in a portion of the arch too small to accomodate them naturally--conventional treatment regimes generally call for the extraction of four teeth (usually the first bicuspids) as an initial step. Those in the art justify this procedure by the requirement to allow sufficient space in which to realign the remaining teeth.
It has been found, however, that long term problems can stem from such extraction. First, relapse can occur, given the relatively long distances over which some teeth are moved within the arch. Second, such extractions can cause articulation problems, which may or may not be correctible by speech therapy. Finally, indications point to these extractions as a cause of temporal mandibular joint dysfunction later in life.
In the same manner that dentistry in general has attempted to eschew extraction except as an extreme measure, orthodontic practice should develop techniques that treat extraction as the exception rather than the rule. Such a technique forms the basis for the present invention.